KZ
Very knowledgeable about VF National Park and very accommodating
Thank you Shelton for an excellent tour of the 16 viewing points. I would also like to commend you on your excellent photographic skills.
GH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experience of life time
Having a good company and driver makes a difference in you experience. I would highly recommend papa and Africa Chita. He went out of his way to help us see the big 5 and we did several times.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Sadam was my tour guide we had an amazing trip with him we recommend him to all.very safe he Is.
Masai Mara is a good place to visit we enjoyed our trip and recommend others also to come and visit.
35-50 years of age
I didn’t have to do a thing on this trek but put one foot in front of the other
I had an incredible experience doing the 7-day Machame route to climb Kilimanjaro with Kili Tanzanite Safari. I requested a quote through safaribookings.com and the quote I received via email wasn’t as professional looking as ones I got from other companies, so I was a little nervous about it not being legitimate, but I wasn’t tempted by the very reasonable price. (I got quotes from other companies that were easily 2x what I paid Kili Tanzanite, and I heard of other people getting quotes that were 3x (thousands more!) what than I paid.) My suspicions turned out to be completely unfounded, as Andrew was incredibly responsive and helpful in getting my trek scheduled and my guide, Fadhili, told me that Andrew is a wonderful guy to work for. The morning of the trek there was an issue with the hotel, so I called Andrew and he answered on the first ring. He also stored my belongings that I didn’t take on the mountain (many of which were expensive electronics) and I got them all back safe and sound. It made me very happy that I was supporting a locally owned company. Apparently, a lot of the bigger (and more expensive) companies that run Kilimanjaro treks are owned by foreigners (the biggest one is Russian owned, boooo).
I had a level of customer service that went way beyond what I was expecting for what I paid for this trip, both on and off the mountain. I am an experienced backpacker so I didn’t care about doing the trek with a company that was going to coddle me, but I’ve never had such a luxurious backpacking experience. I went solo and did a private trip, so I had a massive tent to myself. I didn’t have to carry any of my own stuff except for whatever I’d need during the day (water, layers, snacks, sunblock, etc), they heated up water for me to wash in the morning and again in the evening, they served hot drinks 3x/day, and there was really good food cooked for every meal (the soups were amazing!!) They served me enough food for 2 people on this trip and honestly, by the end of the trek, I was sick of eating because I was always so full! I didn’t have to do ANYTHING on this trek but put one foot in front of the other.
Even though I did this trek solo, there was 1 chef (Bryson), 1 guide (Fadhili), and FIVE porters (Ali, Nelson, Mayshock, Emmanuel, and Sefu) just for me. All 7 of them slept in one tent, which was also the kitchen. They were so good to me and had such good attitudes and told me multiple times how happy they were to have the work. I felt so spoiled, I had to tell them to only give me washing water once and day. And on the days it was an option, I didn’t want the chef to stop and cook lunch in the middle of the hike, I just had him pack me a picnic lunch. The only ways I noticed some other companies did things “nicer” than this company was they would have porters carry tables and chairs for mid-hike breaks (I felt this was completely unnecessary, I would rather just sit on a rock) and some had newer/nicer tents. My tent, while older, was much bigger so I wasn’t cramped at all. I only felt bad for the porters who carried it as that meant it was heavier.
The recommended tips according to Andrew were USD $10/day per porter, $12/day for the waiter (one of the porters acted as your waiter), $15/day for the cook, and $25/day for the chef. Before the trek, this felt expensive to me (even as an American who is used to tipping a lot) as that totaled $644. However, by the end of the trip, I felt that this was an insufficient reflection of my gratitude for how much work everyone did and ended up tipping more than the recommendation.
Fadhili was a great guide and spoke better English than many of the other guides I met on the mountain. He genuinely seemed to care about me accomplishing my goal and was very careful to hike super slowly to help with altitude acclimation (ive never hiked so slowly in my life but I’m sure it contributed to my ultimate success). He even did a health check at the end of every day and took my oxygen levels with a pulse oximeter.
I was so focused on summitting Kilimanjaro and suffering the altitude symptoms before the trek that I forgot the trek could actually be enjoyable. Even if I hadn’t summited (I did!), this trip still would have been more than worth it. The views and different landscapes and environments were incredible and this was a trip I will never forget.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Serengeti National Park by Conrad B.
Never seen that much beauty in 4 days
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Ngorongoro Crater by Conrad B.
After Serengeti our hopes were up this would be even more impressive. It wasn’t. Beautiful and special but not amazing
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Even better than imagined!
Unbelievable safari experience - Tanzania has safari experiences suitable to every standard you could desire - rough camping to luxury lodges!
Do yourself a favour and try it all and don’t forget the ultimate bucket list item of hot air ballooning over Serengeti - magical magical magical!
I will definitely be back!!
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A dream destination if you like nature
After safari’s in mostly southern/ south-west Africa finally went to Tanzania. And a dream came true. Amazing sceneries, great variation too, breathtaking landscapes and endless horizons. Wildlife is beyond any imagination. People very friendly, helpful, safe feeling the whole trip. Good food, nice tented camps and lodges. In one word: fantastic!
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Flight was cancelled due to political unrest
Couldn't fly to Tanzania because of political unrest causing our flight to be cancelled. Agent in Tanzania could not refund our deposit, but said we can transfer is to the following year. Fingers crossed that political situation stabilises.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great customer service and reasonably priced safari!
I booked a 13-day safari with Colours of Africa very last minute (a mere 7 days ahead) and was very pleasantly surprised by how easy it was. Grace was our point of contact and after providing the initial quote, worked with me to customize the itinerary to add two other parks I wanted to see. I requested the quote 9 days ahead of when I wanted to start and had my custom itinerary booked within 36 hours of my initial quote request. I requested quotes from companies that had good reviews on safaribookings.com and went with Colours of Africa because they were the first company to get back to me and I was in a rush. Fortunately for me, they were also reasonably priced. I gave them my ideal budget per day and they customized my itinerary accordingly. Grace was super responsive before, during, and after our trip, and was especially helpful when filling out our Kenyan e-visa application. I was a bit panicked it wouldn’t be approved in time because I booked a flight from the US to Nairobi only a week ahead of our safari but she assured me I’d be able to get my visa in time (it was approved less than 24 hours after I submitted the application).
Most of our accommodations were nicer than I was expecting given the budget we had and how last minute we booked the trip. I was also very impressed by the quality of the food at our accommodations – normally the mass-produced food at buffets in tourist lodging isn’t very good, but the Indian and local curries and other dishes were delicious.
In Kenya, we went to Samburu, Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Hell's Gate, and Amboseli. In Tanzania, we went to Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, and Serengeti. They were all beautiful and worth going to, but my favorites were Samburu, Naivasha (this was quite different from the other parks and was nice to have a change), Amboseli (also quite different with the wetlands), and Ngorongoro. Seeing the Ngorongoro crater was amazinggggg. And Masai Mara and/or Serengeti have the stereotypical savannah views you imagine you’ll see when you’re on a safari. I’d say it’s not necessary to do both Serengeti and Masai Mara because it’s the same geographical area, just with two different names b/c they’re in different countries. Doing both felt a little repetitive (my fault, I was the one who requested to add Masai Mara to our itinerary).
I think a 13-day safari was a little too long and would have been happy with 10 days – you get tired of sitting in the car all day. But even just a 2-day safari is worth it if that’s all you have time for! I maybe would have swapped Serengeti for somewhere were you’re more likely to see rhinos – We saw one from very far away in Ngorongoro but that’s it. Otherwise, we saw plenty of everything else! We had great guides and especially loved Jonson in Kenya and Juma in Tanzania, they were excellent at spotting animals and getting us close and giving us the time we wanted to take photos and observe the animals.
If I went back to Kenya and Tanzania I’d definitely reach out to Colours of Africa again to help me plan my trip!
